I regularly see mistakes with phrases using the words “regards” or “respect”. There are several of these phrases in English, but they are easily confused and mixed up. For example, phrases like in respect to and with regards to are incorrect.
Here is a list of correct phrases (they all mean basically the same thing):
regarding
as regards (this is the only one with an s – “regards”)
in regard to (rare)
with regard to
respecting (rare)
in respect of
with respect to
“Will” may be used in the same was as “would” in the if-clause of a conditional sentence in polite conditionals:
If you will come this way, I’ll show you to the manager’s office.
We also sometimes use “will” in the if-clause when we’re annoyed (“will” is usually stressed in such sentences):
If you will keep smoking, you can only expect to lose your health.
In such a case “will” is not part of the future form, but an expression of willingness.
We also use “will” in the if-clause to talk about a future result:
By all means stop eating meat if it will help your stomach problems.
Although these phrases are often used interchangeably they have slightly different meanings, so we should be careful how we use them.
“According to…” is usually used when you restate something someone told you or something you have heard or read somewhere. It is mostly used for reporting.
According to the clerk we spoke to when we telephoned the supervisory authority this morning, the application was filed last week.
It may be used to introduce information that might not be true:
According to the state news agency, the number of demonstrators did not exceed 1,000. However, the organisers of the protest say there were at least 100,000 people on the march.
It may also be used to introduce hearsay:
According to Annabel, Tom wants to dump Sarah because he really fancies Emma.
“In accordance with…” is used in more formal contexts to introduce the notion of conformity. In a legal context it is used for stating what conforms to the law or a contract. It is never used to introduce information that may not be true.
In accordance with Article 72 of the Act, employees of the Company have the right to form a representative body.
In accordance with §12 of Ms Horvath’s employment contract, she is employed for a fixed period of time – 3 years.
It is common that people use “according to” when they should use “in accordance with”. Try to ensure that you use the right phrase in the right context.
In some cases you can use “under…” instead of “in accordance with”, or where “in accordance with” seems too strong:
Under the new provisions, employers are obliged to inform all employees about which employees are responsible for evacuating the building.
Under / In accordance with a general rule of the Pharmaceutical law, the sponsor and the investigator are responsible for damage resulting from conducting a clinical trial.
Although “pursuant to…” is often used to mean the same thing as “in accordance with” or “under”, some people think it has a different meaning, i.e. “further to” / “as a follow up to”. Either way, “pursuant to” has become rather unfashionable, and you may choose never to use it.
Using a comma with this type of clause
I recommend that you use a comma at the end of this type of clause.
According to recent government statistics, unemployment has risen from 3% to 5% over the last 12 months.
This is because it is often unclear where the “according to / in accordance with” clause ends and the main clause begins. Consider the following example:
In accordance with the draft settlement we were provided with the severance payment provided in § 8 sec. 4 of Mr Price’s employment contract will be paid in January 2011.
I think you’ll agree that a comma after “provided with” would help the reader, whereas a comma after “settlement” would throw the sentence into chaos (but I’ll bet this is where you thought one should go when you read the sentence the first time).
There are two ways of expressing a notice period, as follows:
Under Clause 4.2 one month’s notice is required in order to terminate the agreement.
Under Clause 4.2 a one-month notice period is required in order to terminate the agreement.
Anything else, or a mixture of these two constructions, is wrong.
Note than in the first example above “notice” is an uncountable noun so it cannot take “a/an”. In the second example, “notice period” is countable, so we must say “a notice period”.
“One-month” is a compound adjective, so a hyphen (-) is required.
More examples:
WRONG
Both employees are entitled to one month’s notice periods, effective from the end of a calendar month.
RIGHT
Both employees are entitled to one month’s notice, effective from the end of a calendar month.
Both employees are entitled to one-month notice periods, effective from the end of a calendar month.
WRONG
A three-months’ notice of an intention to terminate an employment contract is required after an employee has been employed for three years.
RIGHT
Three months’ notice of an intention to terminate an employment contract is required after an employee has been employed for three years.
A three-month notice period of an intention to terminate an employment contract is required after an employee has been employed for three years.
Generally I prefer the form three months’ notice to a three-month notice period. They are not always interchangeable, however, as you can see in the two examples below, where the form a three-month notice period should be used.
Once an employee has been employed with the Company for three years, the employee will automatically be entitled to a three-month notice period.
As requested, we have inserted a shortened one-month notice period into Monika’s termination letter (instead of applying the statutory three-month notice period).
Remember that in this sense of the word “notice” is uncountable, so you cannot give somebody a notice. You can only give somebody notice. But of course you can give somebody a week’s notice because “a” refers to “week” (and means “one”). In the same way you give somebody two weeks’ notice etc.
People often make mistakes in their automatic out of office messages. This can make a bad impression, especially if there are basic spelling or grammar mistakes – which is often the case, as such messages tend to be written at the last moment when you’re in a hurry to leave the office. So here are some template messages that you might like to keep for future use.
Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will return on [●].
Kind regards,
You have reached the mailbox of [●]. I am out of the office at the moment and will be back on [●]. Please refer all urgent matters to [●] at the following email address [●].
Regards,
Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office until [●]. If you need urgent help please contact my assistant [●] on [telephone number] or email [●].
Regards,
Thank you for your message. I am currently out of the office and only have intermittent access to email. If the matter needs urgent attention please contact [●] on [telephone number] or email [●].
Best regards,
Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will be returning on [●]. If the matter is urgent, please call me on my mobile on [telephone number]. Alternatively, please get in touch with [●] at the following email address [●].
Kind regards,
Thank you for your message. Our office is closed today, [date], due to a national holiday. I will be back in the office tomorrow and will reply to your email as soon as I can.
Best regards,
You may also be interested in Example voicemail messages
In everyday English the word “money” is uncountable. It is not used in the plural.
We say, e.g. I found some money under the bed / There is some money under the bed, whether it is one 1 cent coin or ten €100 notes.
We would never say I found some monies under the bed / There are some monies under the bed. And it is incorrect to say I found a money under the bed.
Money takes verbs in the singular: Money is… NOT Money are…
However, you are probably familiar with the word being used in the plural.
The plural of “money” is spelt in two different ways – “monies” and “moneys”. Both are correct, but, according to my research, “monies” is the more modern spelling.
Whichever way you spell it, the plural of “money” is used almost exclusively in formal business contexts.
Although “money” has this special plural form, it is still not a countable noun. A money, one money, or two monies etc. are incorrect. “Monies” is an uncountable plural noun.
“Monies” means sums of money. Each sum may be from a different source or earmarked for a different purpose.
For example:
He is responsible for handling fees and other monies due to the court.
These funds represent approximately 12% of total Arts Council monies.
If further monies are put into the trust the additional income will be assessed separately.
She would like to secure these monies for her children in the event of her husband remarrying after her death.
In general, the word “consent” can be used in two different ways:
(i) as an uncountable noun – this refers to the concept/idea of consent
The management board must obtain prior written consent from the Shareholders’ Meeting in order to perform certain activities.
Here “consent” means “permission”, “approval” or “compliance” – all of these are also uncountable nouns.
(ii) as a verb – this refers to giving consent
Unless the President of the Management Board consents to the initiative, we cannot go ahead with it.
Here “consent” means “permit”, “approve” or “comply”.
In a business or legal context it is also possible to use “consent” as a countable noun. But this is not normal in everyday English. As a countable noun “a consent” means a document or certificate which provides consent.
So in the below example, “a consent” is wrong, as we are talking about the uncountable concept of consent. It should be “its consent” or simply “consent”.
The Buyer will not undertake any activities and it will not give a consent to carry out any acts which would preclude the occurrence of the result mentioned above.
However, in the next example, “consents” is correct because we are talking about countable documents.
The Company and the Subsidiaries hold all licences, concessions, permits, consents and certificates required to conduct their core activities.
Usage notes
“Consent” as an uncountable noun
obtain / receive consent from sb.
obtain / receive the consent of sb.
give / grant consent to sb. / sthg.
give / grant sb. consent
sthg. may be done by common consent (i.e. if everyone agrees)
“Consent” as a verb
you consent to sthg.
The verb “consult” has three different meanings and accordingly behaves in three different ways. It is important to ensure your grammar and sentence structure match the meaning you intend.
1. “Consult” usually means “to seek advice or information”. It is a transitive verb, which means it needs an object (i.e. you have to consult somebody or something).
WRONG
Would the employer be obliged to consult before reducing pay?
RIGHT
Would the employer be obliged to consult the employee representatives before reducing pay?
You can also consult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or any other written reference.
E.g.: If you don’t know how to spell a word, consult a dictionary.
Always put the person or thing being consulted after the word “consult”:
WRONG
We recommend consulting the transaction with the works council.
RIGHT
We recommend consulting the works council about the transaction.
In sentences like this, consult with is incorrect. Instead use about or for.
You consult somebody about …
E.g.: The employer must consult the employee representatives about reducing pay.
You consult something for …
E.g.: He consulted the company website for information on internships.
More examples:
WRONG
Please find below our comments regarding consulting with the shareholders the planned merger.
RIGHT
Please find below our comments regarding consulting the shareholders about the planned merger.
WRONG
If TOP Retail consults the transaction with the employee representatives from GoAuto only it may be viewed that it did not follow the consultation procedure properly.
RIGHT
If TOP Retail consults only the employee representatives from GoAuto about the transaction it may be viewed that it did not follow the consultation procedure properly.
In this example the word “only” has also been moved to keep the sense of the sentence.
2. You can only use consult with when “consult” means “discuss something in order to make a decision”. In this case it is an intransitive verb (i.e. it has no object), so you cannot write anything between the words “consult” and “with”:
E.g.: He consulted with his lawyer for 15 minutes before returning to the meeting.
3. “To consult” can also mean “to act as a consultant”. In this case it is also an intransitive verb. It may be followed by “for”:
E.g.: He retired last year, but still consults for his old firm.
Meanings of “account”
As I said in the previous post, the word “account” can mean a variety of things. Below is a list of common meanings and uses of the word.
As a noun
a bank account
a record of financial transactions
a client, e.g. The firm advises key account BP on North Sea assets exchange. (In this sense “account” can also act like an adjective, e.g. an account manager.)
a course of business dealings / a business relationship, e.g. Who’s in charge of the BP account?
a description / narrative, e.g. He gave us a fascinating account of his boat trip up the Zambezi.
an estimation / judgement, e.g. He gave a good account of himself = he was impressive, e.g. in a job interview
a restaurant / hotel bill, e.g. Put it on my account = charge it to my bill
As a phrasal verb
account for
1. give an explanation of / answer for, e.g. IT are unable to account for the missing computers.
2. explain / cause, e.g. The failure of the car’s brakes accounts for the accident.
3. consist of a specified amount of, e.g. Rent accounts for 30% of monthly expenditure.
Idiomatic uses
on account of – by reason of / because of / due to
on this account – for this reason
on someone’s account – on someone’s behalf
take account of something / take something into account – consider / make an allowance for
keep account of – keep a record of / follow closely
hold someone to account – hold someone responsible
call someone to account – ask someone for an explanation
be accountable for – be responsible for
of / having no account – of / having no importance (of some account – important)
by all accounts – in everyone’s opinion
on all accounts – in any case / under any circumstances (on no account – under no circumstances)
on account – to pay “on account” means to make a partial payment of an undefined sum. The rest of the sum will be paid later, or an amount will be refunded if an overpayment was made. E.g. The company has already paid the bulk of this year’s tax on account.
The word “account” can mean a variety of things, depending on the context in which it is used. It also has many idiomatic uses. As a result, if not used with great care, the word can cause ambiguity and make sentences difficult to understand.
Consider the following sentence (it’s an exaggeration, but I have often seen similar):
On account of a payment made on account of the service charges on the Lessor’s account, no further payments on this account are necessary.
The word “account” appears four times, and has three different meanings. This makes the sentence thoroughly confusing for a reader, and so some serious editing is necessary.
First of all let’s look at each phrase in turn:
(1) On account of a payment made (2) on account of the service charges (3) on the Lessor’s account, no further payments (4) on this account are necessary.
(1) The first phrase, On account of means literally “by reason of”. The writer could also use “due to”, “as a result of”, or “because of”.
(2) The second use of on account of is ambiguous because it does not mean “by reason of”. Rather it means “on the service charge account”, i.e. the record of credits related to the service charges.
(3) The phrase on the Lessor’s account contains an error that I frequently see. It is a serious mistake because it changes the meaning of the sentence. What the writer means is “into the Lessor’s (bank) account”.
However, the phrase “on someone’s account” is idiomatic and means “on someone’s behalf”. But this payment was not made on the Lessor’s behalf, rather it was made into his bank account!
Remember that in English payments are made “into or to a bank account” and NOT “on a bank account”.
(4) The last phrase – on this account – has three possible meanings. It contains the same ambiguity as the second use of on account of: Does the writer mean “for this reason”, or is he referring to the record of credits related to the services charges? The third possible meaning is “into a bank account”. Although this phrase is very ambiguous, it does not actually cause a problem here because the sentence ultimately means the same thing whichever way you understand this phrase. But I think you’ll agree that it is not very satisfactory to write something that can be interpreted in three different ways.
Here’s my suggestion for the edited version:
Due to a payment for service charges made into the Lessor’s bank account, no further service charge payments are necessary.
Common Mistakes in Business English 